Designer's Place In The Sun

January 12, 2001|BY CHARLYNE VARKONYI SCHAUB

When Toronto interior designer Glenn Pushelberg found his Florida getaway just blocks from SoBe's Art Deco district, it was considered a "modest, one-story house." Not a ranch. Not a bungalow. Not much of anything.

But, after Pushelberg got through, no one would dare call this three-bedroom house modest anymore. Pushelberg's getaway is a sassy mix of contemporary and midcentury modern furniture accented with a Zen-like sensibility.

He and his design partner, George Yabu, gutted the place. Little windows gave way to big walls of glass and French doors. They covered the floors with polished terrazzo. They selected quiet neutrals for the walls and fabrics. And the pool rates really high on the Zen meter -- with an "affinity edge" that allows the water to spill onto the small pebbles bordering the concrete. Check it out in the January/February issue of Metropolitan Home magazine.

The cold war

These are the times that make gardeners weep.

If the recent chilly temperatures have sent your beautiful gardens into a tailspin, don't panic. The experts say it's best to wait before heading out into the yard with the clippers to trim what appears to be dead leaves and branches.

"Wait a few more weeks before you do anything," says Gene Joyner, urban horticulturist with the Palm Beach Cooperative Extension Service. "If you cut everything back now, the new growth will get burned again."

Jay Vedaee of the Broward County Extension Service agrees.

"There is no reason to double prune and put the plant through shock," he says. "If there is no cold snap, you can prune and hopefully plants will recover. Plants are like humans. They like to survive."

Vedaee says old sheets and blankets and newspaper are the best materials for covering plants to protect them from freezing temperatures. If you use plastic garbage bags or polyurethane films, be sure to prop them up away from the plants with sticks.

"The plastic or film should not come in contact with the plants," he says. "The contact transfers the cold to the plant and could make things worse."

Orchid fever

Have you caught orchidmania? Join the crowd. In 1999, the United States Department of Agriculture reported that orchids were the No. 2 floral potted plant in sales next to poinsettias.

One of the best places to catch the fever is "Orchid Odyssey," the Fort Lauderdale Orchid Society's 44th annual Interna-tional Orchid Show from Jan. 19-21 at War Memorial Auditorium, 800 NE 8th St., in Fort Lauderdale's Holiday Park.

The show, one of the largest in the country, features top orchid growers such as Carter & Holmes and Cal-Orchids, known for their Cattleyas; Normans Orchids and Soroa Orchids, known for their Phalaenopsis; and R.F. Orchids, one of the top growers of Vandaceous orchids.

The auditorium will be transformed into a tropical paradise, filled with exotic orchids. As well as orchids, you'll find books, educational materials and videos. Hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Jan. 19 and 20 and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 21. Call War Memorial at 954-761-5380.